System with speaker, transceiver and related devices

ABSTRACT

A system includes a housing, a speaker included in the housing, and a first transceiver associated with the housing to wirelessly transmit and receive audio content and control information. The speaker is able to produce audible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver. A plurality of remote speakers each have a transceiver. The transceivers of the remote speakers are able to communicate with each other and the first transceiver.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/513,957, filed Aug. 31, 2006, now pending, the contents of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

This disclosure relates to media playing from a speaker.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a system includes a housing, a speaker included in thehousing, and a first transceiver associated with the housing towirelessly transmit and receive audio content and control information.The speaker is able to produce audible signals from the audio contentreceived by the transceiver. A plurality of remote speakers each have atransceiver. The transceivers of the remote speakers are able tocommunicate with each other and the first transceiver.

Embodiments may include one of the following features, or anycombination thereof. The system further includes a remote control thatcan be used to control operations of one or more of the remote speakersand the speaker in the housing. The operations controlled by the remotecontrol include one or more of playback parameters, powering a speakeron and off, and setting a unique speaker identifier for a remotespeaker. The playback parameters include one or more of volume controlbalance, mute and equalization. The system further includes a remotecontrol that can provide signals to trigger system wide operations. Thesystem further includes a remote control that can transmit a signal thatinitiates transmission of a signal from the first transceiver that mutesat least one of the remote speakers. The system further includes aremote control that can transmit a signal that initiates transmission ofa signal from the first transceiver that causes at least one of theremote speakers to produce audible signals. The system further includesa remote control that can control the speaker in the housing and thatcan transmit a signal for selecting one or more of the remote speakersfor operation. The signal can be transmitted to the first transceiverthat identifies one or more of the remote speakers that are to beprovided audio content for producing audible signals. The system furtherincludes a remote control which can transmit one or more signals to theremote speakers to identify which remote speaker or group of remotespeakers shall receive signals from the first transceiver. A network isestablished among the first transceiver and the remote speakers. Thenetwork is one or more of a mesh network and a point-to-point network. Aunique address is assigned to each remote speaker such that content canbe directed from the first transceiver to one or more of the remotespeakers using the addresses. The first transceiver can transmit audiocontent to one or more of the remote speakers. The audio content issourced from one or more of a satellite based system, a cable basedsystem, and a computer based system. Video content can be transmittedamong the first transceiver and the remote speakers. One or more of textand graphics can be transmitted from the first transceiver to one ormore of the remote speakers. The text includes an artist's name and thegraphics includes an album cover. The text and graphics can be presentedon a video display that is one or more of (i) incorporated into one ormore of the remote speakers, and (ii) in communication with one or moreof the remote speakers.

In another aspect, a system includes a housing, a speaker included inthe housing, and a first transceiver to wirelessly transmit and receiveaudio content and control information. The speaker is able to produceaudible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver. Aremote speaker has a second transceiver which can communicate with thefirst transceiver.

Embodiments may include one of the above and/or below features, or anycombination thereof. The audio content is played substantiallysimultaneously by the speaker in the housing and the remote speaker. MP3files can be sent over a wireless link for delivery and playback by theremote speaker. The system further includes a remote control that canselect a unique identification number assigned to a remote speaker. Thesystem further includes a wireless remote control. Some commands fromthe remote control are executed at the location of the housing and othercommands are transmitted by the first transceiver for execution by theremote speaker. The second transceiver can transmit signals to the firsttransceiver that does one or more of (a) confirming that audio contenthas been properly received by the remote speaker, (b) indicating thataudio content has not been properly received by the remote speaker, (c)executing a handshake between the transceivers, (d) effecting operationsof the speaker in the housing, and (e) switching an audio contentsource. The second transceiver can receive audio content and transmitaudio content to one or more other remote speakers. The remote speakerwith the second transceiver is used to establish a wireless networkamong the one or more other remote speakers. The system further includesa wireless remote control. Some commands from the remote control areexecuted by the remote speaker and other commands are transmitted by thesecond transceiver for execution at the location of the housing.

In another aspect, a system includes a housing, a speaker included inthe housing, and a first transceiver to wirelessly transmit and receiveaudio content and control information. The speaker is able to produceaudible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver.Audio content can be processed by the system by one or more of encodingand encrypting for transmission by the first transceiver.

Embodiments may include one of the above and/or below features, or anycombination thereof. Encoding includes one or more of error correctionencoding and data compression. Encrypting includes one or more ofsymmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption and hashing functions.

In another aspect, a system includes a housing, a speaker included inthe housing, and a first transceiver to wirelessly transmit and receiveaudio content and control information. The speaker is able to produceaudible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver. Thetransceiver can transmit data that includes one or more of an InternetProtocol address and a Media Access Control that uniquely identify aremote speaker.

Embodiments may include one of the above and/or below features, or anycombination thereof. The system further includes the remote speaker. Theremote speaker can detect the data and determine if the remote speakeris intended to receive audio content from the transceiver. When theremote speaker determines it is intended to receive audio content fromthe transceiver, the remote speaker can decode and prepare the audiocontent for playback.

In another aspect, a system includes a housing, a speaker included inthe housing, and a first transceiver to wirelessly transmit and receiveaudio content and control information. The speaker is able to produceaudible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver. Thefirst transceiver can transmit one or more of (a) metadata, (b) userinterface information for providing system control to a remote userinterface and (c) communications channel information to a remotespeaker.

Embodiments may include one of the above and/or below features, or anycombination thereof. The system further includes the remote userinterface and the remote speaker. The remote user interface includes oneor more of a hand held remote and the remote speaker. The communicationschannel information includes one or more of data transmission errorrate, spread spectrum information and signals for channel equalization.

Other features and advantages will be apparent from the description andthe claims.

DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a diagram of media playing from a docked handheld mediadevice.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a docking station.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a speaker.

FIG. 4 is a diagram of media playing from a docked handheld mediadevice.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of docking station with a detachable transceiver andmedia device cradle.

Referring to FIG. 1, a system 100 plays media from a docked handheldmedia device 102 (e.g., an iPod® player) that contains a memory (notshown, e.g., a hard drive, flash memory, Read-Only Memory (ROM),Random-Access Memory (RAM), etc.) for storing digitized content such asaudio or video. Some players have enough memory capacity to storethousands of digitized songs representing a person's entire musiccollection.

In addition to carrying his handheld media device 102 to enjoy his musiccollection privately through earphones (not shown) while on the move, aperson may want to listen to songs from his collection at normal roomlistening levels while at a particular location, for example, while athome or in the office or while recharging the power source (e.g.,rechargeable batteries) of the handheld media device 102. By insertingthe handheld media device 102 into a docking port 106 of a dockingstation 104, the device can provide audio content to the docking station104. The docking port 106 is be integrally formed with the housing ofdocking station 104 thereby providing a mechanical connection forreceiving and supporting the handheld media device 102. The docking port106 also provides an interface (e.g., a male connector) for providing ahard wire electrical connection for receiving audio content from andproviding signals (e.g., commands) to the handheld media device 102. Oneor more powered speakers 108 included in the docking station 104 produceaudible signals 110 at typical room levels from the audio content (e.g.,songs) provide the desired listening experience.

In addition to listening to the songs from the speakers 108 in thedocking station 104, a user may like to have the music played by one ormore other speakers (such as a remote speaker 112) that are not part ofthe docking station, are not connected by wires to the docking station,or are otherwise “remote” from the docking station. The remote speaker112 may be located in the house or office of the user, in the same roomas the docking station or in a different room or outdoors or in adifferent nearby building. By providing music in real time (e.g., audiocontent is nearly simultaneously played at multiple locations withoutsignificant time delay) to the remote speakers, signal latency isreduced along with audible echo effects from the remotely locatedspeakers. While audio content may be provided in real time, in someimplementations, latency may be permissible. For example, if two or morespeakers (e.g., speaker 108 in the docking station 104, remote speaker112, etc.) are located such their respectively produced audio could notbe heard simultaneously, an amount of latency may be allowed.Additionally, in some implementations, the audible signal reproduced bythe docking station 104 may correspond to different content than thecontent used to produce the audible signal by the remote speaker 112.For example, a user may listen to one song at the docking station whileanother song is transmitted by the docking station to the remote speakerfor playback.

Each remote speaker 112 may receive signals representing audio contentfrom the docking station 104 through a wireless link 114 that uses radiofrequency (RF), infrared (IR), laser or other wireless technology.

Before sending the audio content signal through the wireless link 114,the docking station 104 may process the audio content, for example, byencoding or encrypting or both for efficient and secure transmission. Inaddition to the audio content, other data may be transmitted from thedocking station 104 to the remote speaker. For example, data 113 (e.g.,an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a Media Access Control (MAC) address,etc.) that uniquely identifies the remote speaker 112 may beincorporated into the wireless transmission over the link 114. Bydetecting this identification data, each remote speaker 112 maydetermine whether it is the speaker for which the audio content isintended and, if so, may decode and prepare the audio content forplayback at the pre-identified remote speaker.

Along with unique identification information, other types of informationmay be transmitted to one or more remote speakers. For example, metadata(i.e., data that describes other data) that may describe media content(e.g., audio content, video content, etc.), control information (e.g.,transport control), user interface (UI) information for providing systemcontrol to a remote user interface (e.g., at a remote speaker, a handheld remote, etc.), communication channel information (e.g., datatransmission error rate, spread spectrum information such as frequencyhop parameters, signals for channel equalization, etc.). Data 113 mayalso be provided in a bi-directional manner such that the dockingstation 104, the remote speaker 112 or other devices included in thesound system 100 may transmit or receive the data.

The sound system 100 may include a remote control 116 to control theoperations of one or more system components. For example, the remotecontrol 116 may be used to control the operations of the handheld mediadevice 102 once inserted in the docking port 106. In someimplementations, the remote control 116 may directly send commands tothe handheld media device 102, while in other implementations, theremote control 116 may send commands to the docking station 104 that arepassed to the handheld media device 102.

The remote control 116 can control, for example, navigation of a menustructure (e.g., selecting menu entries) that catalogs stored content,turning the device on and off, setting the backlight level, selection ofplayback operations (e.g., stop, play, pause, mute, skip forward, andskip back), changes to the volume level, creation, storage, editing andexecution of song sequences (e.g., playlists), and other functionstypically provided by the user interface of handheld media device 102.

In some implementations, the remote control 116 may control operationsof docking station 104, for example, volume control of the one or morespeakers 108, characteristics of the wireless link 114 (e.g.,transmission frequency and amplitude), identify which remote speaker(s)may access the wireless link (e.g., select a unique identificationnumber assigned to a speaker) and encoding and encryption parameters.Typically, one or more analog or digital signals are transmitted overthe wireless link 114 to provide audio content (and other data) to theremote speaker 112.

In some implementations, a digital signal may be transmitted over thewireless link 114. The digital signal may represent one or more filesthat are stored in the handheld media device 102 or are derived fromanother source. This digital signal may adhere to one or more protocols.For example, audio content associated with an individual song may becompressed into a file using one or more coding schemes such as theMoving Pictures Experts Group (MPEG) audio layer 3 (MP3). These MP3files may be stored in the handheld media device 102 and may beretrieved to access and play back the audio content. Similar to theaudio content, the MP3 files may also be sent over the wireless link 114for delivery and play back by one or more speakers 118 included inremote speaker 112.

The remote control 116 may also be used to control operations of one ormore remote speakers such as the remote speaker 112, such as adjustingplayback parameters (e.g., volume control, balance, and equalization),powering the speaker on and off, and setting a unique speaker identifier(e.g., an alphanumeric identifier) for the remote speaker 112.

The remote control 116 may implement one or more wireless techniques toestablish communications with one or more components (e.g., the handheldmedia device 102, the docking station 104, or the remote speaker 112),for example, infrared, RF, and laser techniques, individually or incombination. The remote speaker 112 may receive wireless signals fromthe remote control 116 that initiate such events as adjusting the volumeof the one or more speakers 118, mute the speaker playback, and turn thepower on and off. The docking station 104 may also receive signals forinitiating these or similar events. Additionally, the remote control 116may provide signals to trigger system wide operations. For example, theremote control 116 may transmit a signal to the docking station 104 thatinitiates transmission of a signal (e.g., over the wireless link 114) tomute the remote speaker 112. Alternatively, a signal may be sent overthe wireless link 114 to cause the one or more speakers 118 to produceaudible signals 120.

The remote control 116 may also transmit a signal for selecting one ormore remote speakers for operation. For example, a signal may betransmitted to the docking station 104 that identifies one or moreremote speakers that are to be provided audio content for producingaudible signals. In some implementations, each remote speaker mayinclude a selector switch (e.g., a hardware implemented switch or asoftware implemented switch or both). By placing the switch in aparticular state (e.g., state 1, state 2, etc.), the remote speaker maybe grouped with other remote speakers having switches in the same state.For example, the selector switches of remote speakers located in amaster bedroom may be placed in “state 1” while the selector switches ofremote speakers located in a kitchen may be placed in “state 2”. Theselector switch states may be considered room codes and may be used foridentifying remote speakers located in each room. Dependent upon theswitch states, a signal from remote control 116 may control signaltransmission from docking station 104 to a particular group of remotespeakers. For example, by identifying “state 1” in a signal from remotecontrol 116, the docking station 104 may provide signals to the remotespeakers located in the master bedroom for producing audible signals(e.g., music). Along with providing a signal to the docking station 104,the remote control 116 may transmit one or more signals to the remotespeakers to identify which speaker or group of speakers shall receivesignals from the docking station 104.

Referring to FIG. 2, a transceiver 200 is included in the dockingstation 104 to transmit signals that contain content (e.g., audiocontent) over one or more wireless links such as the wireless link 114.The transceiver 200 may implement IR, RF, laser or other technology, incombination or individually. In some implementations, the transceiver200 may include an RF transmitter for transmitting wireless signals,e.g., on a 2.4 GHz carrier frequency, using a spread spectrum technique(e.g., frequency hopping, etc,) such that a carrier frequency variesover a range of frequencies, etc. Additionally, for receiving wirelesssignals, the transceiver 200 may include a receiver for receivingwireless signals on the carrier frequency (e.g., 2.4 GHz), or insertedin a spread spectrum signal. Other wireless communication protocols mayalso be used by the transceiver 200. For example, Bluetooth technologymay be incorporated such that the transceiver 200 may interconnect overrelatively small ranges. Ultra Wide Band (UWB) technology may beimplemented such that relatively large amounts of digital data may betransmitted over a wide spectrum of frequency bands with relatively lowpower for short distances. The transceiver 200 may also comply with oneor more communication standards such as Institute of Electrical andElectronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards. The transceiver 200 mayalso use one or more specifications described in U.S. Published PatentApplication US-2005-0272436, published on Dec. 8, 2005, and U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/640,215, filed on Aug. 12, 2003, both of whichare incorporated by reference here.

The transceiver 200 may perform signal processing prior to transmissionusing, e.g., amplitude modulation, frequency modulation, or phasemodulation and/or digital modulation schemes (e.g., frequency shift key(FSK), phase shift key (PSK), quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM)), orother similar modulation techniques to prepare the content (e.g., audiocontent) for transmission.

In some arrangements, the transceiver 200 may comply with one or moreprotocols to transmit audio content. For example, some protocols mayinclude a master/slave communication protocol, a server/client protocol,or a peer/peer communication protocol. Generally, in using amaster/slave protocol, one device is a master and the other or othersare slaves. The master typically controls the slaves. Using aclient/server communication protocol, a server responds to requests fromthe client or clients. Using a peer to peer communication protocol,either of the two devices may initiate a communication session. Thetransceiver 200 may use one or more encoding schemes (e.g., errorcorrection encoding or data compression) and/or encryption schemes(e.g., symmetric encryption, asymmetric encryption, or hashingfunctions) to prepare the audio content for transmission.

The transceiver 200 may produce one or more channels for wirelesstransmission. For example, two channels may be produced that are capableof carrying separate sets of audio content. One channel may be assignedto carry audio content provided by the handheld media device 102, whilea second channel may carry audio content provided from an another audiosource connected (e.g., by an auxiliary jack) to the docking station104. Other audio sources may include home entertainment equipment (e.g.,stereo equipment, compact disc (CD) player, or digital video disc (DVD)player), another handheld media device (e.g., iPod), satellite signals(e.g., satellite radio), a cable system (e.g., audio signals from acable television system), computer systems (e.g., the Internet) or othertype of audio content provider.

To receive signals from a wireless remote control (e.g., the remotecontrol 116), additional circuitry may be included in the transceiver200 and the docking station 104. For example, a surface mounted signalcollector 202 (e.g., an RF antenna, IR detector, or photo detector) maybe incorporated into the docking station 104. Additionally, decodingcircuitry (e.g., an IR decoder) may be included in the docking stationto decode or identify the one or more commands provided by the remotecontrol 116. Once identified, commands associated with the dockingstation 104 or the handheld media device 102 may be executed locallywhile commands associated with other system components (e.g., the remotespeaker 112) may be transmitted for remote execution.

Power to the docking station 104 may be provided by an integrated powersupply that converts alternating current (AC) power into a directcurrent (DC) or by batteries (e.g., rechargeable batteries) or batterypacks. Power supply circuitry along with circuitry for other operations(e.g., detection, modulation, or encoding) may be implemented in analogand/or digital circuitry. Analog circuitry may include passive andactive components while digital circuitry may include one or moregeneral processors (e.g., a microprocessor) and one or more specializeddevices (e.g., an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC)). Oneor more of the processors and/or components may be implemented in asingle integrated circuit as a monolithic structure or in a distributedstructure.

Power supply techniques may also be incorporated into the dockingstation 104 for other applications. For example, while inserted in thedocking port 106, a power source (e.g., one or more rechargeablebatteries) included in the handheld media device 102 may be recharged bypower supply circuitry included in the docking station 104. Rechargingmay be executed at substantially the same time the media device 102 isbeing accessed or is providing content to docking station 104.

To transmit and receive signals, the docking station 104 may include oneor more internally or externally mounted antennas (not shown), forexample, one or more conformal antennas (e.g., a patch antenna or astripline antenna) and one or more protruding antennas (e.g., atelescope antenna).

Referring to FIG. 3, the remote speaker 112 may include a transceiver300 that is capable of operating in a reception or transmission mode toestablish one or more wireless links. In some situations, thetransceiver 300 may establish a link with another transceiver (e.g., thetransceiver 200 shown in FIG. 2). As for the transceiver 200, thetransceiver 300 may implement one or more wireless technologies (e.g.,RF technology, IR technology, or laser technology) for receiving ortransmitting wireless signals. Dependent upon processing executed at atransmission site, the transceiver 300 may execute operations (e.g.,demodulation, decoding, or decryption) to access audio content includedin a received wireless signal. The audio content may be furtherprocessed (e.g., filtered or amplified) by circuitry (e.g., analogcircuitry or digital circuitry) prior to being provided to the one ormore speakers 118 included in the remote speaker 112.

Transceiver 300 may also operate in a transmit mode so that the remotespeaker 112 may send wireless signals to one or more locations. Forexample, a signal that confirms that audio content has been properlyreceived by the remote speaker 112 may be transmitted to the dockingstation 104. Alternatively, an alert signal indicating that audiocontent has not been properly received may be sent by the transceiver300. Other types of procedures (e.g., handshaking) may also be executedby transmitting signals from the transceiver 300. Wireless signals sentfrom the remote speaker 112 may effect the operations of the dockingstation 104. For example, transmitted signals may trigger the handheldmedia device 102 to select another song (e.g., skip forward to nexttrack or skip back to previous track), change selectable songs (e.g.,change song play list) or perform another operation.

A wireless signal may also be transmitted to trigger an operationassociated with the docking station 104. For example, a wireless signalmay be sent to switch the audio content source from the handheld mediadevice 102 to equipment connected to an auxiliary jack (e.g., a CDplayer, cable television, or satellite radio receiver) included in thedocking station 104. Some wireless signals transmitted by thetransceiver 300 may also include content (e.g., audio content). Forexample, audio content received by the transceiver 300 may be relayed toanother location (e.g., another remote speaker or group of remotespeakers). By receiving and transmitting wireless signals, thetransceiver 300 may be used to establish a wireless network among otherremote speakers and one or more docking stations.

As for the docking station 104, the remote speaker 112 may incorporatevarious types of power supplies. One or more batteries may provide powerand may allow the remote speaker 110 to be portable (e.g., moved intoanother office or to an outside deck). An AC power supply may also beincorporated (with or without the batteries) that may convert an ACvoltage signal into a DC voltage level. As for the docking station 104,the remote speaker 112 may also implement one or more antennas (e.g.,conformal, extendible, internally mounted, etc.) for receiving and/ortransmitting wireless signals.

To communicate with the remote control 116, the remote speaker 112 mayinclude a surface mounted signal collector 302 (e.g., an RF antenna, IRdetector, photo detector, etc.). The remote speaker 112 may also includecircuitry (e.g., analog or digital) for processing the wireless remotecontrol signals (e.g., RF signals, IR signals, or laser signals)received from the signal collector 302. As for the docking station 104,the remote speaker 112 may include circuitry for determining if theremote control signals include commands for local execution (e.g., bythe remote speaker 112) or remote execution (e.g., by the dockingstation 104 or another remote speaker) For remote execution, thetransceiver 300 may wirelessly send one or more signals to anappropriate location to initiate execution of one or more operations.

Referring to FIG. 4, for example, one docking station and multipleremote speakers may be distributed between two rooms. In this example, adocking station 400 and a remote speaker 402 are placed in one room 404,while two other remote speakers 406 and 408 are wall mounted in a secondroom 410. To provide audio content, a handheld media device 412 may beinserted into docking station 400. Each of the remote speakers 402, 406,408 and the docking station 400 includes a transceiver for transmittingand receiving wireless signals. In this example, to provide audiocontent to the remote speaker 402, a wireless link 414 is establishedbetween docking station 400 and the remote speaker. Wireless links arealso established with remote speakers 406 and 408 in room 410. Inparticular, a wireless link 416 is established between the dockingstation 400 and the remote speaker 406.

The docking station 400 provides the audio content to the remotespeakers in real time and reduces distracting echo effects from thespeakers located in different rooms (e.g., low latency transmissions ofapproximately 40 milli-seconds).

To supply the audio content beyond the transmission coverage provided bythe docking station 400, one or more of the remote speakers maywirelessly relay audio content to one or more other remote speaker ordevices. For illustrative purposes, the remote speaker 408 may be beyondthe transmission range of the docking station 400. To provide audiocontent to the remote speaker 408, the remote speaker 406 may relay theaudio content provided by the wireless link 416 to the remote speaker408 through a wireless link 418. As for other wireless links, thewireless link 418 may bi-directionally pass signals. Thus, signals(e.g., containing commands from a remote control) may be passed from theremote speaker 408 to the remote speaker 406, e.g., for delivery todocking station 400. By relaying content (e.g., audio content or remotecontrol commands), a wireless network may be established among theremote speakers and the docking station. For example, if each networknode (e.g., a remote speaker or docking station) establishes a wirelesslink with two or more other network nodes, a mesh network may beestablished such that content may “hop” from node to node until itreaches one or more destination nodes.

Various types of network architectures may be implemented for passingcontent among network nodes. For example, point-to-point networkconnections may allow content to be passed from one node to another,point-to-multipoint connections may allow broadcasting of content fromone to many nodes, or other similar network architectures may beimplemented.

In some arrangements, each remote speaker may be capable of selectingparticular content that is included in wireless transmissions from thedocking station. For example, if two channels of audio content arewirelessly being provided to the remote speaker 402, data stored in theremote speaker may be used to selectively receive content from one ofthe channels. Furthermore, data stored at the remote speaker may beprovided by a user using a remote control. So, if the docking station400 transmits two channels of audio content, the remote speaker 402 mayselect (from stored data) one channel while the remote speakers 406 and408 may select (from data stored at each respective remote speaker) theother channel.

In some arrangements, the docking station 400 may direct audio contentto one or more particular remote speakers. For example, the dockingstation 400 may direct one channel of audio content to remote speaker402 and another channel of content to the remote speakers in room 410(e.g., the remote speakers 406 and 408). One or more techniques may beimplemented for directing a channel (or channels) to one or moredestinations. For example, the docking station and the remote speakersmay comply with a protocol such that each remote speaker is addressable.By assigning a unique address to each remote speaker, the dockingstation 400 may direct content to one or more of the remote speakersusing the particular addresses. For example, each remote speaker may beselected to be uniquely responsive to a particular transmissionfrequency. Thus, by transmitting audio content at one or more of theseselect frequencies, the uniquely corresponding remote speakers mayreceive the audio content. Similar to the docking station, one or moreremote speakers may also selectively direct (e.g., relay) content to oneor more destinations (e.g., another remote speaker).

As mentioned above, various types of sources may provide audio contentthat may be transmitted from docking station 400 to one or more of theremote speakers. For example, besides content stored in the handheldmedia device 412, audio content from a satellite based system (e.g.,satellite radio, etc.), a cable based system (e.g., cable televisionsystem, etc.), a computer based system (e.g., the Internet) or othersimilar audio content source may be provided for transmission from thedocking station 400. Along with audio content, other types of contentmay be transmitted among the docking station and the one or more remotespeakers. For example, video content provided from the handheld mediadevice 412 or another type of video content source (e.g., satellitesystem, cable television system, the Internet, etc.) may be transmittedamong the docking station 400 and the remote speakers 402, 406 and 408.Digital information (e.g., textual data or graphical data) may also betransmitted among the devices individually or in combination with audiocontent and video content. For example, text (e.g., artist name andinformation) and graphics (e.g., album cover) may be transmitted fromthe docking station 400 to one or more of the remote speakers 402, 406and 408. This textual and graphical data may be presented on a videodisplay incorporated into one or more of the remote speakers and/ordisplays in communication with one of more of the remote speakers.

In some arrangements, multiple docking stations may be included in asystem such as the sound system 100. Each docking station may beassigned one or more dedicated remote speakers or the multiple dockingstations may share one or more remote speakers. Different transmissionsignal characteristics (e.g., frequency, phase, polarization, etc.),modulation schemes, etc., may be implemented for the remote speakers todistinguish signals from the multiple docking stations. The remotespeakers may be addressable so that signals from the multiple dockingstations may be selectively received. For example, remote speakerslocated in one part of a house (e.g., a formal living room) may beconfigured to receive signals from one docking station while in anotherpart (e.g., a family room), remote speakers may be configured to receivesignals.

Referring to FIG. 5, in some implementations portions of a dockingstation may be located external to the docking station housing. In thisexemplary design, a docking station 500 includes a cradle 502 that iscapable of receiving a handheld media device 504. Typically, thehandheld media device 504 includes a connector (e.g., a bus interface)that couples the media device to the cradle 502. The cradle 502 may becoupled to the docking station 500 to exchange signals (e.g., signalscontaining audio content, video content, digital data, etc.). In thisimplementation, a cable 506 couples the cradle 502 to docking station500 (via a connector 508). The connector 508 may use one or moreinterface techniques such as being a universal serial bus (i.e., USB)port, a serial port, a parallel port, an IEEE 1394 (i.e., FireWire)port, or provide another similar type of connection.

While cable 506 implements a hardwire connection between the cradle 502and docking station 500, wireless techniques may also be used to connectthe devices. For example, IR, RF, laser, or other wireless methodologiesmay be implemented for transmitting wireless signals between the cradle502 and the docking station 500.

In this implementation, the cradle 502 is capable of receiving thehandheld media device 504 and holding the device in a substantiallyupright position. However, in some implementations, other types of traysthat detach from the docking station 500 may be used. Furthermore,rather than implementing a detachable tray, a connector (not shown) mayconnect the cable 506 directly to the handheld media device 504.

A detachable transceiver 510 provides wireless transmission andreception functionality for docking station 500. A hardwire connector512 allows signals to be passed between the detachable transceiver 510and the docking station 500. However, similar to the cradle 502,wireless technology (e.g., IR, RF, laser, etc.) may be incorporated intothe detachable transceiver 510 and the docking station 500 for passingwireless signals. Also, one or more antennas may be located in thedetachable transceiver 510 or in the docking station 500 for emittingand receiving the wireless signals.

When in an attached position, detachable transceiver 510 appears toextend a noticeable distance from the housing of docking station 500.However, in other implementations, a detachable transceiver may beshaped such that it conforms to the housing of the docking station 500.

Other embodiments are within the scope of the following claims. Forexample, various types of speakers may be incorporated into the dockingstation 400 or the remote speaker 402. Furthermore, while theimplementations mentioned above describe transmission of audio signalsbetween a docking station and remote speaker units (e.g., other dockingsstations, powered speaker enclosures, etc.), some implementations mayinclude transmitting a signal that contains video content that is storedon a hand-held media device from a docking station (e.g., a dockingstation with an integrated video display and/or speaker) to remotedevices having an integrated video display and/or speaker.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising a housing; a speaker includedin the housing; a first transceiver integrated in the housing towirelessly transmit and receive audio content and control information,the speaker being able to produce audible signals from the audio contentreceived by the transceiver; and a plurality of remote speakers whicheach have a transceiver integrated therein, the transceivers of theremote speakers being able to communicate with each other and the firsttransceiver, wherein the remote speakers are configured to wirelesslyrelay the audio content amongst each other, thereby to supply the audiocontent beyond the transmission range of the first transceiver.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, further including a remote control that can be usedto control operations of one or more of the remote speakers and thespeaker in the housing.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the operationscontrolled by the remote control include one or more of playbackparameters, powering a speaker on and off, and setting a unique speakeridentifier for a remote speaker.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein theplayback parameters include one or more of volume control balance, muteand equalization.
 5. The system of claim 1, further including a remotecontrol that can provide signals to trigger system wide operations. 6.The system of claim 1, further including a remote control that cantransmit a signal that initiates transmission of a signal from the firsttransceiver that mutes at least one of the remote speakers.
 7. Thesystem of claim 1, further including a remote control that can transmita signal that initiates transmission of a signal from the firsttransceiver that causes at least one of the remote speakers to produceaudible signals.
 8. The system of claim 1, further including a remotecontrol that can control the speaker in the housing and that cantransmit a signal for selecting one or more of the remote speakers foroperation.
 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the signal can betransmitted to the first transceiver that identifies one or more of theremote speakers that are to be provided audio content for producingaudible signals.
 10. The system of claim 1, further including a remotecontrol which can transmit one or more signals to the remote speakers toidentify which remote speaker or group of remote speakers shall receivesignals from the first transceiver.
 11. The system of claim 1, wherein anetwork is established among the first transceiver and the remotespeakers, the network being one or more of a mesh network and apoint-to-point network.
 12. The system of claim 1, wherein a uniqueaddress is assigned to each remote speaker such that content can bedirected from the first transceiver to one or more of the remotespeakers using the addresses.
 13. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst transceiver can transmit audio content to one or more of theremote speakers, the audio content being sourced from one or more of asatellite based system, a cable based system, and a computer basedsystem.
 14. The system of claim 1, wherein video content can betransmitted among the first transceiver and the remote speakers.
 15. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein one or more of text and graphics can betransmitted from the first transceiver to one or more of the remotespeakers.
 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the text includes anartist's name and the graphics includes an album cover.
 17. The systemof claim 15, wherein the text and graphics can be presented on a videodisplay that is one or more of (i) incorporated into one or more of theremote speakers, and (ii) in communication with one or more of theremote speakers.
 18. A system comprising a housing; a speaker includedin the housing; a first transceiver integrated in the housing towirelessly transmit and receive audio content and control information,the speaker being able to produce audible signals from the audio contentreceived by the transceiver; and a remote speaker having a secondtransceiver integrated therein which can communicate with the firsttransceiver, wherein the remote speakers is configured to wirelesslyrelay the audio content to one or more other remote speakers beyond thetransmission range of the first transceiver.
 19. The system of claim 18,wherein the audio content is played substantially simultaneously by thespeaker in the housing and the remote speaker.
 20. The system of claim18, further including a wireless remote control, whereby some commandsfrom the remote control are executed at the location of the housing andother commands are transmitted by the first transceiver for execution bythe remote speaker.
 21. The system of claim 18, wherein the secondtransceiver can transmit signals to the first transceiver that does oneor more of (a) confirming that audio content has been properly receivedby the remote speaker, (b) indicating that audio content has not beenproperly received by the remote speaker, (c) executing a handshakebetween the transceivers, (d) effecting operations of the speaker in thehousing, and (e) switching an audio content source.
 22. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the second transceiver can receive audio content andtransmit audio content to one or more other remote speakers, whereby theremote speaker with the second transceiver is used to establish awireless network among the one or more other remote speakers.
 23. Thesystem of claim 18, further including a wireless remote control, wherebysome commands from the remote control are executed by the remote speakerand other commands are transmitted by the second transceiver forexecution at the location of the housing.
 24. A system comprising ahousing; a speaker included in the housing; a first transceiverintegrated in the housing to wirelessly transmit and receive audiocontent and control information, the speaker being able to produceaudible signals from the audio content received by the transceiver; aremote speaker having a second transceiver integrated therein which cancommunicate with the first transceiver, wherein the first transceivercan transmit data that includes one or more of an Internet Protocoladdress and a Media Access Control that uniquely identify the remotespeaker, and wherein the remote speakers is configured to wirelesslyrelay the audio content to one or more other remote speakers beyond thetransmission range of the first transceiver.
 25. The system of claim 24,wherein the remote speaker can detect the data and determine if theremote speaker is intended to receive audio content from thetransceiver.
 26. The system of claim 25, wherein when the remote speakerdetermines it is intended to receive audio content from the transceiver,the remote speaker can decode and prepare the audio content forplayback.
 27. A system comprising a housing; a speaker included in thehousing; a first transceiver integrated in the housing to wirelesslytransmit and receive audio content and control information, the speakerbeing able to produce audible signals from the audio content received bythe transceiver; and a remote speaker having a second transceiverintegrated therein which can communicate with the first transceiver,wherein the first transceiver can transmit one or more of (a) metadata,(b) user interface information for providing system control to a remoteuser interface and (c) communications channel information to a remotespeaker, and wherein the remote speakers is configured to wirelesslyrelay the audio content to one or more other remote speakers beyond thetransmission range of the first transceiver.
 28. The system of claim 27,further including the remote user interface, wherein the remote userinterface includes one or more of a hand held remote and the remotespeaker.
 29. The system of claim 27, wherein the communications channelinformation includes one or more of data transmission error rate, spreadspectrum information and signals for channel equalization.
 30. Thesystem of claim 27, further including a docking port associated with thehousing.